It’s almost two weeks into the partial government shutdown, and some unexpected entities are seeing some trickle-down effects from it.

Mt. Pleasant Brewing Co. brewer Jeff Eddington said because of the partial government shutdown, craft breweries can’t make certain changes to their products or services.

“It’s not really a big effect for us,” Eddington said. “A lot of breweries are going to be hurting, especially new breweries opening.”

The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a budget for the coming fiscal year, and resulted in the unpaid furlough of several federal government departments with services deemed “unnecessary.”

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One of those departments, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, is an extension of the Treasury Department.

“They are in charge of collecting all taxes for breweries, but they’re also in charge of approving labels,” Eddington said. “They’re not approving any new labels or any new recipes right now.”

The TTB reviews all labels to make sure they are up to national standards, he said.

While the shutdown isn’t affecting the day-to-day operation of the brewery, it has had to put a halt onto its project of redesigning labels for all of its craft brews.

Eddington said the labels are often redone to stay competitive with other craft brews and provide an updated look for customers.

The new label for the brewery’s IPA was approved just prior to the shutdown, but the brewery can’t move onto the next beer, Eddington said.

However, these problems pale compared to those of other breweries, Eddington said.

“We can’t do any seasonal beers or specialty beers, we can’t label them,” he said. “We weren’t really planning on it for now, so it’s not really a big deal. But for a lot of other breweries — it’s a big deal.”

With other breweries, looking to produce winter seasonals, such as warmers or imperial stouts, they won’t be able to bottle those brews, he said.

While Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company does offer winter seasonals, those recipes have already been approved by the TTB, so the shutdown won’t keep Mt. Pleasant patrons from their brews.

If it continues into the spring, however, it might pose a problem

“Hopefully it doesn’t last that long,” he said. “We have a couple new brews for the spring to be bottled.”

However, Eddington said, if the shutdown continues into the spring months, the brewing company won’t be able to bottle its Peach Gruit or create its Belgian Tripel.

“It definitely hurts our fellow brewers in the industry, trying to come out with new stuff,” he said.

About the Author

Randi Shaffer has been the Isabella County reporter for the Morning Sun since 2012. An alumna of CMU, she is in the process of obtaining her MSA degree. Obsessions include hockey, yoga and vegetables. Reach the author at rshaffer@michigannewspapers.com
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